Program Connects Vulnerable Youth with Animals in Need.

As a social services professional, Melissa Wolf felt dismayed at the high, 75-percent rate of repeat incarceration for juvenile offenders. At the time, she also donated volunteer hours to a local animal shelter, which is what gave her the idea to create a win-win program that would help both at-risk youth and animals in need of forever homes. 

Her idea blossomed into a program called UnChained that pairs youths in juvenile correction facilities with abandoned dogs. In the program, the youth participants learn how to train dogs while also building valuable leadership and communication skills. 

Melissa believes that, by giving abandoned dogs a second chance through adoption, vulnerable youth also get their own second chance. She explained that, over the course of the eight-week program, training together helps both the dogs and adolescents restore trust in others again. 

“There’s a lot of reciprocity between dogs and humans,” Wolf explained. “They experience joy and anger and fear and loneliness. Our kids often share very similar stories to the dogs, and we bring that into our classes.”

As they teach basic skills that will help dogs prepare for life in a new adoptive home, each youth begins to develop positive communication skills, compassion and a sense of achievement and responsibility. They must first earn the trust of the animal in their care, and then they forge a relationship based on attention and kindness. Melissa notes that both the youth and animal share similar stories of abandonment and abuse, which creates a powerful bond. 

At the end of the program, the youth help the dogs demonstrate their new skills in a graduation ceremony showcase. At the event, participants also celebrate the dogs who have been adopted into their forever homes. 

“It feels good to know that I helped someone,” shared one participant. “We both just had a bad start. We were just lost, but we’re strong. We know there is a second chance. We just have to find the right people to be around.”

Many of the youth in the program have experienced risk factors that include childhood trauma, poverty, addiction or loss of a parent. Melissa has observed that, when a youth helps a dog follow a path to success, it positively transforms how they view themselves and their own future. 

“We serve kids that have great intellect, great creativity, great compassion,” Melissa said. “They are our leaders, and we need to take care of them.”

The youths participating in the program work alongside volunteers, professional dog trainers and licensed mental health professionals. The training sessions take place in juvenile detention centers or at schools. The rescued dogs are professionally vetted prior to joining the program. Aggressive dogs are not permitted; only shy and insecure dogs are allowed. 

UnChained became a nonprofit in 2011 and operates in northern California.

The Foundation for a Better Life and PassItOn believe that Melissa Wolf is a hero. Her action is a great example of second chances. By finding a way to establish an emotional connection between vulnerable teens and animals in need, she has given them both a second chance.